


Shortness of Breath

by AshWinterGray



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Buried Alive, Death, Dissociation, Flashbacks, Gags, Kidnapping, Non-Consensual Bondage, Non-Sexual Bondage, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Suffering, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:09:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28907601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray
Summary: Jason finds himself buried alive.He can't breathe.
Relationships: Jason Todd & Tim Drake & Stephanie Brown & Cass Cain
Comments: 6
Kudos: 134





	Shortness of Breath

The first thing Jason registered when he opened his eyes was that it was dark. His heart was already pounding, some sense of whatever led him here bleeding over into the present, but just out of reach. The dark certainly didn’t help his already racing heart, and he desperately tried to move around.

Only to make his second discovery. His limbs were bound tightly in a way that would make it hard for him to escape. Knots over knots. Arms and legs tied in more than one place. Whoever had put him here didn’t want him to move. And that was a problem. For a second, Jason panicked, jerking around to try and get at one of the knots, but his flailing led to nothing, and he barely moved.

His third discover was that he was in an enclosed space. That, of course, made the situation that much worse. Jason’s breath came quicker as images of being trapped. Lying down. Banging against wood and padded cushions as he desperately tried to cry for help. Jason screamed and wailed now, too. Begging for someone to come and save him. He could practically feel his nails ripping off and his hands bleeding as he clawed and scratched at the wooden prison, dirt quickly following and filling his mouth as he slowly ran out of air.

His screaming led to the fourth and worst conclusion of all. He was gagged.

He was going to die, tied down in this coffin, trapped in the dark, unable to call for help. His breathing was getting to fast, and part of him continued to scream behind the gag. He couldn’t claw his way out this time, and the disoriented stated he was in upon waking up certainly wasn’t helping as he cried and begged and screamed for someone. _Anyone._

But no one was going to come. He knew no one would come. He was trapped here. Alone. In the dark. Buried six feet under with no one to answer his calls. Not even Superman would save him. He hadn’t been this scared since he first woke up in his coffin, and it was almost painfully fitting that he would die in one again. So he keeps wailing despite his shortening breath. Despite the fact that he’ll run out of air quicker. Despite the fact that the ropes are starting to cut into his skin and making him bleed in a few places.

It’s almost fitting to die like this.

Jason screams and wails and cries in a way he hasn’t in so long, releasing everything he’s kept pent up. He thrashes a bit too, not that it will do much good. His skin burns against the ropes. He’s getting way too hot, however took him hadn’t bothered to remove all his armor. Just the important parts that would have aided his escape. He couldn’t even send out a distress signal.

He wondered if anyone would ever find him. He hoped that, at the least, Kori and Artemis would look for him. Or maybe he’d get to see Biz again. That wouldn’t be so bad. The prospect of seeing Roy almost made the situation bearable. Jason realized he didn’t have many friends outside of them, but Dana would probably keep watching his house for years, never knowing what happened.

He didn’t hold out much hope that Bruce would care. Damian definitely wouldn’t, and he doubted Steph, Cass, or Duke would think twice about him. Dick might care, but that would probably be more of his own guilt than genuine care for Jason. Babs might care a little, but they had never really seen eye to eye for her to care for too long. The only person who might actually think about him would be Tim, and even then, Jason had done too much wrong to truly matter to the kid. Tim deserved better. Better than Jason could give him. Alfred might care, but he was too attached to the Bats to do anything about it.

It was getting really hard to breathe.

There was shuffling outside of Jason’s coffin, and perhaps the guys who took him were coming to bury him if he wasn’t already. It didn’t matter, Jason was practically dead already. He couldn’t scream anymore, and even the darkness looked fuzzy. His other senses were dulled, only the occasional flare of pain really registered as he shifted the wrong way. There wasn’t much space to do anything in his coffin. Just thrash about. The coffin was honestly a little too small for Jason too, but that was more of an afterthought.

He really couldn’t breathe.

There was a wheezing noise that rang in Jason’s ear, and it took him a moment to realize he was basically hearing his last breaths. The shuffling outside his coffin seemed to be frantic, but it all sounded more like cotton. He couldn’t care. He was just so tired. Hot too. And a little dizzy if he really gave it thought. It kind of hurt to do that though.

“-you mean you-?!”

“-ian, why would-?!”

“Get me a crowbar! Now!”

“-someone call-!”

The last words rang in Jason’s ears, but he couldn’t care about them much. Even though the words definitely started to bring back old memories Jason had tried so desperately to bury. They were going to beat him. Of course they were. Jason just hoped the air would dry up already so he could suffocate and not have to live through the beating a second time. Better his corpse than his soul, he guessed. At least none of them were laughing.

“-hear me-?!”

“-not respond-!”

“old on-!”

“JAY!”

_CRACK! CRACK! CLANG!_

Light filtered in through the sudden cracks and Jason _screamed_ with all the air he had left in his lungs. Then the darkness welcomed him back with open arms.

\---------------------------------

There was a beeping sound in Jason’s ears, and it was kind of annoying, but given how much his chest hurt, Jason wasn’t sure he’d be able to speak. His breaths felt shallow, even to his own ears, but at least he wasn’t someplace dark like last time.

It looked like the clinic.

He glances around, finding the room empty. Just him, the bed, and empty chair by the bedside. Jason wondered how long he had been out. Judging by the mask on his face that was helping him breath, it had been a while.

His brain finally decided to catch up with him.

He had been in Bosnia, dealing with a Human Trafficking Ring, wrapping up the last of the operation there. He had been alone, letting the Bats know that he would be unavailable because the kids were more important than celebrating Bruce’s birthday. Jason hadn’t tacked on that last bit, but Bruce had agreed that the kids took priority.

And then, right as he was going to finish up the last of the ring, save the last of the children, he had been jumped. It had to have been someone in Bosnia. One of the stupid child smugglers. They had probably wanted to send a message and someone must have saved him.

But the kids?

_You probably failed them just as Bruce failed you._

Jason shut his eyes again, unable to fight the sinister words. He was used to them. Used to disappointing everyone, including himself, and especially those that mattered most. Jason wished he had died so that those kids could have lived their lives and gone back to their families.

It wasn’t fair. This was all his fault.

“Thinking to hard, little brother.”

Jason’s eyes flew open to see Cass now occupying the once abandoned chair. He stared at her, unable to truly believe she was there, but Cass just smiled.

_Probably a dream. Or a nightmare. You’re not that lucky._

Jason shut his eyes and turned away from Cass. She was either here as a hallucination (which was odd because he hallucinated Bruce, Dick, Tim, and Damian more than the others) or she was actually here and was probably making sure he didn’t escape.

Not that Jason planned too. He was ready to die in that coffin, and he was especially ready to die now. Those kids. Those poor kids. After months of trying to find that operation, now he knew he had failed them in the worst way possible. He’d never forgive himself for being so careless.

“Kids safe,” Cass gave him a pat to the shoulder, confirming that this wasn’t a dream. “Little brother, Steph, and friends saved them. Not failed.”

Jason still didn’t open his eyes, though the tension did bleed out of his body. If the kids were safe, then that was good. At least someone had managed to save those kids from a terrible fate. And if anyone could get those kids home or find them new ones, it would be Tim. Jason let himself try to breathe normally before falling back into the wings of darkness.

\----------------------------

He woke to shouting the next time.

“I don’t care! You get out and you stay out! You and your stupid enabling led to this! You don’t have that right to see him anymore, Dick!”

“Timmy, please! He’s my brother! I was just-!”

“What? Joking? Well haha, Dick. It must have been so funny, Jason laughed himself to death! In fact, not only did Jason laugh so hard he _stopped breathing,_ but his heart actually stopped! Get out before I call security and give Vicki Vale the story of a lifetime! And keep that stupid demon brat away from Jason!”

Jason couldn’t remember ever hearing Tim so angry.

Dick, however, was using a tone Jason knew all too well. It was the I’m-sad-pity-me-and-give-me-love voice that often one people over in an argument. Jason included. So he was a little impressed that Tim’s righteous fury seemed to be able to trump Dick’s guilt-tripping voice. The door soon slammed and that was followed by whispering and hushed hisses.

The door to the bedroom opened.

“He deserved it,” came Stephanie’s voice. “Now go sit down before you have a stroke. I need to check Jason’s IV drip then we can marathon some Doctor Who or one of those Korean Dramas.”

Stephanie moved over to the bed and paused as she saw Jason staring at her. But instead of giving a quick insult or sneering, Steph gave him a smile. A sad one, but not angry or sinister.

“Hey, Jay, you feeling okay?”

_Was he?_

“You don’t have to answer,” Steph shook her head with that sad smile. “Just get some more sleep, okay? You really need it.”

The offer was beyond tempting. So Jason took it.

\-------------------

The next time Jason woke, it was midday, the light filtering in through a window that looked like a bedroom in Tim’s apartment. He still had an IV in his arm, but the mask was replaced with just the nasal tubes to help him breath. His chest still kind of burned, but not nearly as bad as it had the first time he woke up. His breath still rattled a little, but it wasn’t nearly as loud as it had been. All good signs.

His body ached though, and there was a slight sting from where the bonds had cut into his skin. Thinking through the events, he tried to remember what exactly happened, but reality and the lack-there-of were bleeding together in a painful image that made Jason want to shut down.

The bed was comfy, though.

It took a minute for Jason to register the sound of click-clacking. Like fingers tying away on a keyboard. It took Jason even longer to realize that he was hearing fingers on a keyboard because Tim was sitting on a chair in the bedroom by Jason’s bedside, typing away at a laptop. He glanced up at Jason once or twice, but seemed intent to finish whatever he was doing before closing the laptop altogether.

“Sorry,” Tim gave him a smile. “I wanted to make sure you’d stay awake this time. You’ve woken a couple times in short bursts. A lot has happened in the last three weeks.”

Three weeks? He was out that long.

“Yeah, that wasn’t fun,” Tim reminisced, unseeing of Jason’s surprise. Or perhaps ignoring it. “See, Dick made a joke about the best birthday present for Bruce being Jason all gift wrapped and delivered in a box for Bruce’s birthday. Damian, of course, took it seriously, and it definitely didn’t help that Dick made the joke _several times_ leading up to Bruce’s birthday. And, of course, it was definitely encouraged by some of the others. Luckily, the Young Justice and I were on a case that linked with your human trafficking case, so we managed to save the kids, but Damian and his friends kidnapped you in the middle of your stake-out, and they tied you up and threw you in a wooden crate. Damian, apparently, misjudged the drugs and you woke up sooner than you should have. Not that it makes the situation any better. Cass, Steph, and I have banned all visitors from seeing you until further notice. And Babs has been making sure to enforce the rule.”

Jason sucked in a breath. “Why?”

Tim eyed Jason with a funny expression. “Cause you’re my brother Jason. That’s why.”

That was the sketchiest answer Jason had ever heard, but he was willing to take it for now. He let Tim talk about anything and everything, and Jason listened to his brother’s voice, grounding himself in the moment and letting the reality sink in.

He was safe. He wasn’t in the dark or six feet under. And he could _breathe._

That was enough for now.

\----------------------

When Jason next woke up, he was feeling much better. There were still hints of panic on the edge of his mind, but he his chest was no longer on fire. Tim was in the room again, clicking away at his keyboard, and Cass was sat by the window.

“You alright?” Steph asked from Jason’s left, and he found her sprawled on the floor with several textbooks and papers.

“Yeah,” Jason admitted, and he wasn’t lying. For the first time in years, he felt okay. It was probably just the light-headedness from being trapped. “I think I’m okay.”

And for once in his life, he was okay.

\--------------------

Jason had resigned himself to meeting with the remaining Bats, though he didn’t want too. He’d given permission months ago, but Tim, Cass, Steph, and Babs had held firm. He’d talked to Babs on the phone a few times, and only recently started video calls.

He wasn’t sure what that was about.

And now he was meeting Bruce. Not Batman. Bruce.

The meeting was happening in Tim’s apartment. The place where everyone insisted Jason stay. There had been a few people who came in and out. The Young Justice members were frequent visitors, though they initially kept a wide berth away from Jason until Bart decided he wanted to meet him. And some of the Titans Tim was still friends with made an appearance.

It was complicated. But it was nice.

“Jason,” Bruce greeted, sounding…not aggressive for once when he said the name. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright.”

Tim had a meeting at WE, something Jason suspected to have been planned. Steph had classes, and a major test that day. So Cass was the only one present, and she was hiding. Still, it was a comfort to know she was there.

“Good. That’s…good.”

Jason watched Bruce from across the table, the leftovers from dinner the previous night sat between them as sort of fruitless barrier. Bruce seemed to twitch in his seat, occasionally picking at his food in between bites. His gaze flitted everywhere but Jason. Something dark and sinister reared its head inside Jason, telling him that Bruce clearly didn’t like the food anymore than he liked Jason, himself. But Jason shoved it down. He didn’t want to fight.

He was done fighting.

“Bruce. Just say what you have to say. Get it over with.”

Bruce finally looked at Jason, taking in the tired, haggard, bruised form of his son. Jason’s breath was still ragged, and Bruce had been informed by Leslie that if Jason every felt that anxiety again, his heart just might stop beating forever. Bruce was regretting making sure both Tim and Steph were busy for this meeting.

“Jason, I-” and Bruce paused, looking into teal-green eyes.

_When had his son become so defeated? What had he done to have caused that spark to die out?_

“I…I’m sorry, Jason.”

Across from Bruce, Jason shut his eyes and sucked in a breath. His chest still seemed to rattle, and Bruce fiddled with his fork, forcing himself to eat (not that he needed much prompting with how delicious the food was). As Jason released that breath, he locked his gaze with Bruce.

“I know.”


End file.
